Living forward. The challenge of carrying forward Gendlin s legacy

Size: px
Start display at page:

Download "Living forward. The challenge of carrying forward Gendlin s legacy"

Transcription

1 Manuscript Prof. dr. Mia Leijssen. Only to be used with permission: 1ST EUROPEAN FOCUSING CONFERENCE. May 2018, 10-14, Loutraki, Greece Living forward. The challenge of carrying forward Gendlin s legacy Gendlin used the concept living forward or life-forward energy only a few times in his writings. However it is implied in everything he has written and we can sense that living forward has been of huge importance to his way of thinking, practising and living. This comes across very clearly in the following quotes: If one's attitude is welcoming, even long-fixated memories come as part of fresh living forward, rather than as constriction and stoppage. Gendlin (1999) 1 It took me a long time to affirm that the ongoing bodily experiencing has its own inherent lifeforwarding implying. The little steps that arise at the edge are creative, imaginative, and always in some positive direction. Gendlin (2003) 2 In bodily terms help means anything that brings life-forward energy. Gendlin (2012) 3 I read in these words that life-forward energy is about the potential to move forward in a positive direction. And that the purpose of therapy or counselling is to touch that experiential layer, awakening the vital energy that will direct healthy and creative development. Why have I chosen to zoom in on a theme about which Gendlin did not say much explicitly? I have been practising focusing for over 40 years, and during this time I have more and more found myself getting in touch with important experiences for which I don t have sufficient words. Something resonates inside of me while reading certain passages of Gendlin s work. Even when it is still unclear which words can best be used as handles, just the search in itself for the right symbols in connection with the felt experience is already a carrying forward. In this lecture I will deepen these questions: 1. How can we understand living forward? 2. How can we come into contact with this living forward? 3. How can we facilitate the helping process of working with life-forward energy? 4. How can bodily felt contact with living forward open new perspectives on human development, healing and wellbeing? Of course answers to these questions will overlap with each other. 1 Gendlin, E.T. (1999). A new model. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 6(2-3), Page Gendlin, E.T. (2003). Beyond postmodernism: From concepts through experiencing. In Roger Frie (Ed.), Understanding Experience: Psychotherapy and Postmodernism, pp , Routledge. Page Gendlin (2012) Body dreamwork. In McNamara, Patrick & Deirdre (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Sleep and Dreams, Praeger Press.

2 In addition to this I will make it clear how Gendlin s approach implies several paradigm shifts in the traditional Western way of thinking, acting and living. Finally I will address how this opens the way for a multicultural existential wellbeing model 4 in which the physical, social, personal and spiritual aspects of human existence are intrinsically interwoven and living forward is cultivated in the full range of experience. The personal meaning for me in offering this lecture is in wishing to carry forward Gendlin s legacy. 1. How can we understand living forward? In human beings, living forward can be understood as the vital energy that arises from a stream of barely noticeable experiences. This preconceptual experience is inherent to life and is therefore almost impossible to express through words. It permeates the human body, much like it permeates every living organism. Living forward can result in new forms and creative expressions of the ongoing life force. The way in which living forward shapes the human organism has its own natural development. This process simply happens, without us even noticing it or being aware of it. Living bodies imply their own next steps (Gendlin, 1992) 5. Note: My colleague and dear friend Patricia de Martelaere ( ), Professor in Philosophy and expert in Taoism 6 refers to the Chinese concept Qi, which could be a perfect translation of living forward. She chooses not to translate the word because possible translations such as energy or life force can be vague and misleading. They do not grasp the specificity of Qi as the very basis of the life of everything and everyone. The descriptions of Qi however are exceptionally interesting in the context of living forward. Qi is felt to be a life force given by nature. Qi is always moving. Qi refers to everything that can be actualised. Sometimes the material side of Qi is more prominent, sometimes the energetic side. These aspects are qualitatively different: matter is Qi in a more solid form; consciousness is a more ethereal form. Remarkably, Qi is also translated as process because it describes reality in terms of processes and sees reality as fundamentally in motion, constantly changing and developing. Other non-western cultures have concepts similar to the Chinese Qi or our living forward concept. Exploring these similarities would be a very interesting journey in itself, which we cannot dwell on here and now. Living forward is an essential property of the whole organism which always manifests itself in different ways, depending on the situation. And we notice these manifestations depending on how a specific socio-cultural context reveals different aspects of living forward. 4 See our international free of charge Massive Open Online Course (MOOC): Existential Well-being Counseling: A Person-centered Experiential Approach. Some articles and video s also are available on: 5 Gendlin, E.T. (1992).The primacy of the body, not the primacy of perception: How the body knows the situation and philosophy. Excerpt from: Man and World 25 (3-4) de Martelaere, P. (2006). Taoïsme. De weg om niet te volgen. Ambo.

3 In the context of psychotherapy Gendlin approaches a problem as a bodily felt process in which lifeforward energy has been kept from moving in its natural flow. The person can t move to a next step because there is a stoppage in living forward; life-forward energy is locked up or misdirected in some aspects of his or her life. Living forward can be restored by welcoming the bodily felt sensations as a place to start, as an opportunity to reflect on something that is pre-verbally expressed in this subtle experience. When you start to notice this vague experience and make an effort to capture something of it, you will find a handle that enables you to open the door to a deeper felt layer of experience. And then all you need to do is follow the life-forward energy. Anyone who is familiar with focusing is also familiar with the sense of wonder that comes from discovering a sense of direction and meaning in a movement that was at first only a vague sensation. Experiencing a felt sense of how a situation affects you, and the further unfolding of the felt meaning, are often associated with a process that Gendlin called moving forward, at times described as tangible/visible shifts in how the body expresses this process of change. These are also moments in which living forward can be felt increasingly clearly. And while the unfolding of a felt sense and making contact with living forward are often regarded as intrinsically interwoven, I feel it is particularly important to see them as different processes, each with its own dynamic. The awareness of life-forward energy can be used as a helping process, distinguished from a felt sense process. By considering the process of contact with living forward as different from the unfolding of a felt sense, new roads are opened to psychotherapy - and to life in general. Before I explain a different approach, starting from the experience of living forward, I want to highlight that Gendlin was a real game changer in the field of Psychotherapy and Philosophy. Without understanding that Gendlin altered a number of rules of the game, the experiential approach may provoke frustration and resistance; people tend to run into something of an obstacle, which they may find difficult to pinpoint. The experiential approach implies several new steps, which I call paradigm shifts. The first paradigm shift I want to highlight is that Gendlin starts by breaking through the constrictive psychological framework in which the mind has the upper hand. He paves the way to the body. This change in mind-set is similar to the revolution in traditional Physics when Relativity and Quantum Physics demonstrated that the usual principles of causality and the associated dualistic vision are simply untenable. Energy (which is sometimes called Spirit in the humanities) permeates everything. Contemporary natural science proved that mass and energy exist on the same continuum. 7 Many people have not yet made this shift in their perception of reality and in their self-experiencing. As a result, they are stuck in a mental rut, finding it difficult to establish contact with their more subtle bodily felt energy. This will be more fully explained in response to the next question. 7 Anselm & Michael Grün (2016). God en kwantumfysica. Averbode.

4 2. How can we come into contact with this living forward? What are possible openings to experiencing this life-forward energy? The first is contact with your body. This involves experiencing your body from the inside. For young children this is completely natural. They are their bodies; various sensations moving from the inside outward, direct their actions. Like animals, plants and any number of micro-organisms, their bodily felt senses are still very much in tune with their immediate environment. Contact with the body begins to change when the body is seen and judged from the outside. Thinking about and judging the body may then overshadow feeling and experiencing the body from the inside. Contact with life-forward energy that can be felt from the inside, becomes gradually attenuated and may even disappear entirely off their radar over time. The body s antennae no longer function, they no longer communicate anything. A person no longer inhabits his or her body: the person has withdrawn from his or her own body and limited him or herself to the mind. When this contact with the felt body, where life-forward energy is naturally expressed, no longer exists, one method of re-establishing this contact may be to purposefully direct one s attention to bodily sensations and bodily felt processes. This, among others, is what we try to do with the invitation to focus. Note: Remarkably, in many diverse non Western cultures, more importance is attached as a matter of course to bodily processes (e.g. movement, or position of the body, or breathing exercises) as part of personality development and to assist an expansion of consciousness. Patricia de Martelaere 8 describes how, based on her inner physical sensations when practising Tai Chi the slow martial art she became interested in what took place in her and how her thoughts and feelings appeared to be linked to her physical movements. She points out that the underlying Chinese Taoist philosophy is difficult to understand if you do not practise Tai Chi from within: finding the mysterious gateway, emptying your heart and consciousness, breathing from your heels. We now know that this is not just about directing one s attention ; it is largely the quality of the attention that makes the difference. This is because it involves the type of energy that determines the type of movements in the organism. The organism may shrink, freeze, block out things when exposed to judgmental attention. However, the organism can relax, open up, restore itself when confronted with friendly welcoming attention. Rational people tend to scornfully dismiss the energetic impact of attention as a placebo, thus ignoring the powerful energy that shapes the organism. There is scientific evidence, for example, that the healing of wounds is promoted by a positive environment. The person s attitude, the attitude of others, even the presence of animals or plants can all influence the human organism s healing process. This is explained by contemporary natural science using the principle of the continuum of mass-energy. 8 de Martelaere, P. (2006). Taoïsme. De weg om niet te volgen. Ambo.

5 This also makes it possible for us to understand how a therapeutic relationship or a positive interpersonal atmosphere can be one of the most important resources influencing the client s healing process. That said, none of this can take away from the fact that people are sometimes stuck in their heads, stuck in the mental realm unable to seek out and identify the healing experience of living forward in their body. In order to help even these people to learn something from this process, there are already a number of valuable steps that have been developed by several focusing teachers. However, all experienced focusing teachers are aware - in the same way that experienced therapists are - that people may have put quite a number of obstacles in place over the course of their lives, dooming every attempt to make contact with bodily felt experiencing to failure. People also tend to systematically ignore every situation that could disturb them, or they channel their perceptions so that they always end up at the same dead end, or they take refuge in numbing substances so they no longer have to feel what the body is carrying. Some people have come to identify themselves with the mind to such an extent that they have compartmentalised their bodies and no longer feel more subtle sensations. The organism is seen more as a machine that can be controlled through rational thought. The mind has taken the upper hand, sidestepping the body. Talking therapy often only provides more fodder for their thought processing. I think that it is at this point that a person needs to be put back in touch with the ability to feel life again and re-connect with how it carries forward. But they will never succeed in this endeavour if we are constantly knocking on doors that are closed to their bodily felt experience. Here again I wish to remind you that an experiential approach supposes a second paradigm shift. Gendlin actually chose to radically reverse the direction of our working process. Traditionally, the client and the therapist strive to get a grip on an aspect of the client or of the situation. The living forward principle focuses on establishing a connection with a felt aspect in the organism, using this as inspiration. This will become clear as I develop the next question. 3. How can we facilitate the helping process of working with life-forward energy? One of the facilitative approaches I want to discuss here involves a situation where attention is not actually focused on the body directly. We look for a situation that invites the client to make a detour. A detour that can also act as a short-cut, which surprises the client with a new perspective. Let me illustrate this with a case example. EXAMPLE: One of my clients is a highly developed intellectual who only believes in the rational. His brain is all that matters in his self-experience; the rest of his body does not exist in a manner of speaking. If I were to allow him to take control of the conversation, our conversation would be limited to discussing and reasoning and he would only analyse his experiences.

6 The fact that many years of psychoanalysis and various behavioural therapy sessions did not help encouraged me to believe that we needed to take a different approach. However, the client never responded to my invitation to notice something in his body. Instead he dismissed this as nonsense, as new-age psychobabble which he didn t wish to engage in. After yet another failed attempt to make some contact on an experiential level during our discussions, I once asked him whether he ever notices nature around him. He was caught off guard by the unexpectedness of my intervention. But for the first time ever, he fell silent, and then he gave me an answer that was quite different from his usual flood of words. He said he found it very strange when a new friend visited him in his home - where he had been living for over 20 years - and she was pleasantly surprised by the lovely tree near his front door. He had never noticed the tree. So I put these words to him: Your body is also there, like the tree, a living organism that has been growing all this time without you having paid attention to it. This reflection touched him and literally inspired movement in his body. He felt something move in his throat, chest and abdomen. This marked a real turning point in his therapy, as he was able to notice that bodily felt movement, the living forward in that situation. I m going to cut this long story short and limit myself to telling you that - much to my surprise - his new relationship with his body later resulted in another, rather striking change. After the tree session, he stopped suffering from impotence for the first time in many years when making love to his girlfriend. This client s narrow perception of the world, which only included the mental part of him, suddenly opened up because his attention was directed to another situation in which living forward suddenly revealed itself. The session demonstrates how establishing a real felt connection with the wider realm in which natural life-forward energy can be vividly perceived, is a good option where the living forward experiencing in an individual has stopped. This is an example of what Gendlin describes in his Process Model as: Crossing with a new environmental plane brings novelty. Since our body is a part of nature, it can be very helpful to notice different forms of life in nature. Animals are included here (as is shown by the remedial effects of therapy with horses or the proximity of a pet). Nature demonstrates perfectly so many different life processes which are also present in the human organism. It opens up the opportunity of crossing examples of living forward from nature to what it is possible to experience as an human being. Note: Qi is seen as the cause of all phenomena in nature. Different kinds of Qi are distinguished; which, amongst other things, give rise to the different seasons. We can expand the realm in which personal experiencing unfolds by exploring new situations, new opportunities where life-forward energy manifests itself. Here we have a third paradigm shift which is comparable to the breakthrough of positive psychology. The individual is no longer reduced to his or her problem. By focusing on living forward, we directly

7 tap into a healthy energy. The suffering experienced by the person is acknowledged as something that is part of life. Failures no longer need to be confessed and the same content explained over and over again. Stumbling blocks or problems act like signposts to the organism, which knows what a good life should be like. They point in the direction of a stopped process which can be made to move forward again by establishing a connection with life-forward energy. This approach, which strives for well-being, is rather unusual in therapy, which tends to mainly focus on the problem. Gendlin expressed his vision as illustrated by this quote: Every bad feeling is potential energy toward a more right way of being if you give it space to move toward its rightness." (Gendlin 1981.) 9 This principle of looking for the positive tendency or the life-forward energy behind problematic behavior or painful feelings, is quite common among Person-centered therapists. However psychotherapists often invest much of their time in exploring problems. In a living forward approach we try instead to make a shortcut, to bypass the stumbling blocks and look for new energy by going straight in the direction of living forward. We pay more attention to what brings the client alive and we inquire about positive experiences. It is striking how participants of focusing workshops are often surprised by how a direct connection to life energy helps them to swiftly relate to themselves in a pleasant way as separate from their problems. They often say that this approach has delivered better results in a short period of time than they have ever experienced in psychotherapy. We can understand this by acknowledging that on an experiential level the living forward is there and reaches much further than the problem or particular emotions. At that level the person can experience a directly felt contact with how life wants to move forward. Maybe part of the power of focusing workshops is that they are less problem oriented. Instead their focus is to make contact at the experiential level with the body s inherent potential of living forward. This brings me to the last theme that I want to explain. 4. How can bodily felt contact with living forward open new perspectives on human development, healing and wellbeing? Are there more opportunities for establishing contact with life-forward energy than we are currently using? What else could we do to open up to our full creative and healing potential? In this context, it is worth remembering that Gendlin discovered the focusing process in psychotherapy as a way of being with oneself that was already natural to some clients. He then studied how this process is activated in therapy. As a philosopher, he also delved deeper into the underlying dynamic of this life-forwarding process. So he gradually developed his process theory, which instead of just relating to therapy concerns living as a whole. An individual s relational impact on the other is obviously crucial to the process of experiential change in the therapeutic relationship. In experiential therapy, besides the interpersonal relationship, the inner relationship also becomes clear and plays a crucial role in the healing process. 9 Gendlin, E. T. (1981). Focusing (Rev. ed.). New York: Bantam Books.

8 This brings us to the next paradigm shift Gendlin brought into the therapeutic landscape. In an experiential approach clients are encouraged to refer to their inner felt compass rather than to the knowledge of the therapist or other authorities. Clients can then discover and learn how to make best use of their bodily felt knowledge (- where necessary with temporary assistance from their therapist). It is vital that the client understands and can directly experience the fact that he or she himself/herself has the tools to care for his or her own development. And with the living forward principle we recognise all interactions that involve living. We take seriously multiple ways that we can be inspired by living forward. The case example already demonstrated that establishing a connection with life-forward energy is sometimes better facilitated by the experience of contact and crossing with life in nature. Gendlin described several other living forward processes in which another person does not play a central role. In Thinking at the Edge he explained how a special creative process arises out of the interaction with bodily felt experience and some ideas or a theory; thus bringing new life into ideas instead of them simply being dead words. (In this respect as well Gendlin s publications may bear new fruits over time). Gendlin also offers equally inspiring opportunities in his approach to dreams. In his 2012 publication about Body Dreamwork he explains: Letting the life-forward energy actually come in the body is the chief purpose of body dream interpretation. (Gendlin 2012) 10 And he stresses on multiple occasions that dreams can have therapeutic/life-forward value, even without the intervention of a therapist or another person. Here again the process of crossing and the element of surprise in dreams plays a role: unusual images and movements can break through familiar perspectives and create new openings in narrowed visions. The element of surprise is regularly present in Gendlin s work. During his phone workshops on dreams, organised (with the assistance of Ann Weiser-Cornell) during the last years of Gendlin s life, he would make the suggestion: We could ask the bigger system. This is to some extent surprising, but also not surprising, because he wrote in his 1981 Focusing book about the bigger system of which we are part: "Your physically felt body is in fact part of a gigantic system of here and other places, now and other times, you and other people - in fact, the whole universe. This sense of being bodily alive in a vast system is the body as it is felt from inside." (Gendlin, 1981) 11. Building on - or carrying forward - Gendlin s approach implies that we could tap into a gigantic potential, that we therapists generally approach with a lot of caution and that we hesitate to put into words. 10 Gendlin, E.T. (2012). Body Dreamwork. In McNamara, Patrick & Deirdre (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Sleep and Dreams, Praeger Press. 11 Gendlin, E T. (1981). Focusing (Rev. ed.). New York: Bantam Books. (p.77)

9 Gendlin once said about focusing: it stretches the mind. By paying attention to living forward one could say: It stretches awareness it could lead to experiencing of being aware of what is much broader than was ever realised before. Awareness goes deeper than mindfulness - because it does not limit itself to what the mind notices; rather it acknowledges what the body s antennae can register in connection with a larger field of experiences. Choosing to engage with a much larger experience of living forward can make a world of difference. This implies a choice, but at the same time it is also a gradual process of slowly deepening awareness. It allows living forward or Spirit working through us, from our connection to the depth of the earth to the wider universal space that transcends the human body. This also implies an opening up and an acknowledgment that there is more to life than you know or can understand. Here again we are in the excellent company of contemporary natural scientists who believe that 95% of the events in our universe are completely unknown to us and that we have no idea how they affect us. (Stephen Hawking was convinced that the essence of everything would gradually be revealed thanks to the natural sciences.) Contemporary natural science distances itself from the old mechanical views on matter. Quantum physics for example has proved by different experiments that non-locality and non-objectivity are part of our reality. It has demonstrated that light particles and light waves are intelligent, that they influence the structure of matter - of the body. (Those same contemporary natural scientists have also criticised a lot of brain research, which still takes the old physics as its departure point.) To expand our horizons and to develop our human ability to tap into the positive energy of the bigger system, traditionally forms of meditation or prayer have been used by human beings. However, our body s antenna can tune into a much wider realm of living forward. Trusting through direct experience that our body is part of this larger realm of living forward, unity, creation... we can literally be touched by transpersonal life-forward energy. We also can experience that we can connect to life-forward energy that moves out of the physical body. We can receive things that come together in an unusual way as signs of a greater connection than we might have been aware of. We can become aware that the spirit is working when we begin to notice signs of synchronicity and become aware that something important is about to happen. In these moments, we experience a qualitative jump in living forward. We can notice that our style shifts to profounder developmental nurturance, fresher compassionate witnessing, more risk-taking authenticity, rather than clever engineering or trying to find complicated technical solutions. I would need an entire lecture to explain the implications of connection with living forward in the Bigger System seriously. That will be a theme for another occasion. For now, let me just give you an example of a personal experience I recently had during my walking of the Camino to Santiago de Compostella. In the week before my departure one of my toes got seriously wounded. I could barely stand on my feet. Nevertheless I decided to start on the Camino, which involves 25 kilometres every day. I trusted that Mother Earth would support me. With every step on the ground I consciously made connection with the vital and healing energy of the earth. I could experience the living forward of the earth flowing into my physical body. To my surprise, my wounded feet didn t give me any problem during the walking.

10 Even if the felt energy in connection with the Bigger System gradually becomes more difficult to pinpoint in material forms that we can observe with our senses, the human being has the bodily felt ability to notice and use this subtler energy. Sometimes it requires training to achieve this shift and expand the scope of our consciousness. In the same way that learning to focus and deepening the reach of our bodily felt experiences also requires training. In the same way as I learned to trust the living forward that develops from a felt sense, I learned to trust the living forward that develops from making connection to the bigger system. But more than training, this requires a change in mind-set. This means moving away from the biased assumption that only those things that can be counted, measured and observed with our senses really exist. We must be open to and expand our attention to forms of energy that extend beyond the realm of our current knowledge and things we can explain. Here again this suggests a paradigm shift, whereby we incorporate this kind of expanded consciousness in our experiential approach, thereby acknowledging that transpersonal sources - the Bigger System - contribute to human development and wellbeing. I have often noticed that many of our colleagues consider this shift a bridge too far. It has always puzzled me that humanities scholars have more difficulty accepting this transition than their counterparts in the exact sciences. For Gendlin, this extension was the next logical step. In his chapter on The newer therapies in the famous American handbook of psychiatry (1975) he wrote about The Human Being in the Universe : Religious, spiritual, or cosmic sensitivity is the next logical extension of the movement branching out from the individual to groups, the family, and society. There is a dimension even greater than society the universe or cosmos. In the current trends this is not a matter of belief. Rather, it is the bodily experience of sensing oneself in a vast cosmic context. It is an experience of breathing more deeply, of having a sense of vastness. (Gendlin,1975) 12. Once you have experienced this first-hand, arguments no longer matter. Our felt experience strengthens the idea that connecting with the living forward which permeates our universe will get us much further than we can understand and influence from our limited I. Finding the right words to express this mystery will always be difficult and our words will never quite be enough. Einstein regarded God as a name for all things unknown in Nature. Others use the word Spirit to refer to the energy that permeates everything and yet is so difficult to measure. Some prefer to call it the Unnameable. In existential philosophy it is referred to as The Unknown. Personally, I prefer to think of this as pure energy, which can manifest itself in various forms. I consider the human body to be one of the many forms in which life expresses itself. The body is an environment in which living forward is manifested. As Gendlin writes: The body structure is not only made but also maintained by ongoing processes -- if they stop, the body disintegrates.. The body is process concretized it is a record, an action track. (Process model.353) 12 Gendlin, E.T. (1975). The newer therapies. In S. Arieti (Ed.), American handbook of psychiatry: Volume V. Treatment (2nd ed., pp ). New York: Basic Books. P

11 Pure energy can manifest itself in human beings in pure qualities such as love, compassion, wisdom, peace, wonder, surrender... These all happen to be spiritual qualities where we expand our limited I, ways of being that allow us to establish a connection with everything that is, cultivating consciousness of a vast unity. In an endnote i a personal example is given to illustrate the power of connecting to the Bigger System. The experiential body integrates the physical body, the interpersonal, the psychological and the spiritual realms. This simply happens, without the person having to be aware of the living forward of his or her whole organism. In an existential wellbeing approach the counsellor encourages the client to pay attention to different aspects of living forward that reveal themselves and take turns in coming to the fore. In an interwoven process, the physical, the interpersonal or social, the inner or personal or psychological, and the transpersonal or spiritual aspects of experiencing come together. They can be experienced as a variety of perspectives on the same phenomena. The existential wellbeing model transcends culture, embracing Eastern and Western traditions and welcoming all beliefs from our planet. Due to their particular socio-cultural learning process, individuals may have developed different sensitivities and be better trained in specific forms of expression that articulate the process of living forward. The other side of this is that our socio-cultural context can, in giving more emphasis to some of these realms of experience, sometimes overrate them, while undervaluing, losing sight of or repressing other experiential realms. In an existential wellbeing approach people learn to notice all living forward interactions. By expanding their awareness to the physical, interpersonal, inner and transpersonal forms of expression, they can develop their full potential as human beings. Let me end with an invitation to continue the living forward process, in interaction with Gendlin s amazing legacy, our own experiences and our many changing life contexts. i Endnote related to connecting to the Bigger System. This illustration was not included in my lecture 2018 in Greece. The words that I use to describe my self-transcending experiences are embedded in the culture in which I was raised. However, I increasingly feel that there are natural laws of which we are barely aware behind all of this. For example, I can explain from my past how the Catholic veneration of the culture of Mother Mary in my family of origin has been decisive in my life journey. But my past cannot explain the way in which this Mother Goddess repeatedly manifested herself later in my life. I can only recognise that it simply happened despite me. It is a reality that I have learned to embrace because I could not ignore it. Life continues to amaze me. Sometimes with things that still appear positively wondrous today. However, I suspect that one day we will be able to understand what we now sometimes still experience as supernatural. Our perspective of reality is shifting with increasing awareness and scientific discoveries. But before we have the confirmation of empirically founded knowledge, we have to make do with experiential knowledge. The development of experiential knowledge goes hand in hand with increasing awareness and as we let each other know what life

12 teaches us and share the resources we can use in the process. In this spirit, I will share this remarkable story. In 2008, our granddaughter Annelien was born; she is our son s second child. At first her parents were delighted that this baby was so calm, completely different to their first child. They found it easy that, for example, she didn t wake up when they emptied the dishwasher or received a visit from some noisy friends. It was a great luxury to have a child who slept calmly through everything, wherever she was. This was a relief after a first child who reacted hyper-sensitively to everything. However, this positive story suddenly deteriorated into a drama. During tests carried out by the Child and Family Agency, it became apparent that the baby was deaf. She was around two months old at the time. The joy that came from having an easy child turned into concern for a deaf child. The medical system was immediately set in motion. Annelien was subjected to extensive tests, and the best medical specialists were called on to identify the problem. An electrode had to be implanted in her brain as soon as possible as this would increase the chances of her picking up sounds at an early stage. One forenoon I was at work and received a phone call from my daughter-in-law asking if I could accompany her to an appointment for the electrode implant. Her husband couldn t accompany her as he had been held up at work. I knew that she was afraid to go to the hospital alone with the baby. I had a meeting that particular afternoon. However at half past eleven, I received a phone call to say that the meeting had been cancelled. And a high sensitive spiritual friend advised me to trust the meaningfulness of these events. So I was happy to join my daughter-in-law and my granddaughter to the hospital. The synchronicity is often quite remarkable at such moments. I have learned to receive things that come together in an unusual way as signs of a greater connection than we first realize. Due to an unmistakable synchronization of events, I became aware that something important was about to happen. While we were sitting in the waiting room of the hospital, two members of staff approached us unexpectedly. They were supposed to perform a test on another baby, but the parents had cancelled because they were stuck in traffic. The specialized test equipment was all ready for use, so they suggested performing the test now, with Annelien. It was a test, just like the various other tests that had all confirmed her deafness. To me this unexpected examination was once more a sign of synchronicity. So we followed the medical staff. Annelien, however, protested fiercely. She didn t want the electrodes, which were necessary for the test, to be attached to her little head. I asked the medical examiner whether I could hold the electrodes on Annelien s little head instead of having them stuck on. When I placed my finger on her tiny forehead to hold the electrodes in place, suddenly I had the idea that Annelien had invoked her deafness as protection. With my finger on her forehead, I communicated with my three-month-old granddaughter in my thoughts: Annelien, if you want, you can let Mother Mary be the one who protects you. In critical situations I always call on this same spiritual source. After having communicated through the soul with Annelien, she instantly quietened down. She allowed the test to be performed without any more fuss. Afterwards we went back to

13 the waiting room. The results would be discussed with the doctor a little later. Annelien gave me a big smile. First the doctor discussed the case history with the mother. Suddenly the doctor fell silent. I don t understand it at all, she said. This last test revealed that Annelien can hear perfectly normally. At that moment the doctor s telephone rang. Annelien almost jumped out of her skin. To me this is an example of a series of events that are incomprehensible unless you accept that energy was exchanged on a level that we know nothing about. I can only say that: This is something we cannot explain with contemporary scientific knowledge. When a three-month-old child is involved there is no question of suggestion or a hysterical reaction. I have started to find these kinds of events less extraordinary, because I am increasingly faced with these kinds of examples. In the past, I did not talk about such things, because I know that many people would regard such matters with scepticism. Standing on sacred ground means that I am no longer hurt by what other people think about it. I regard it it as experiential knowledge that is asking to be shared so that others can be nourished in their own emerging trust and can take courage from it to deepen their spiritual path.

Spiritual Path-in focusing oriented psychotherapy. First article in series. Ifat Eckstein*

Spiritual Path-in focusing oriented psychotherapy. First article in series. Ifat Eckstein* Spiritual Path-in focusing oriented psychotherapy First article in series Ifat Eckstein* Your physically felt body is in fact part of a gigantic system of here and other places, now and other times, you

More information

Russell Delman June The Encouragement of Light #2 Revised 2017

Russell Delman June The Encouragement of Light #2 Revised 2017 Russell Delman June 2017 The Encouragement of Light #2 Revised 2017 Almost ten years ago, I wrote the majority of this article, this is a revised, expanded version. It is long, if you find it interesting,

More information

Logosynthesis. Restoring the Flow of Frozen Energy. in the resolution of Trauma and Fear. Denrich Suryadi & Sandy Kartasasmita

Logosynthesis. Restoring the Flow of Frozen Energy. in the resolution of Trauma and Fear. Denrich Suryadi & Sandy Kartasasmita Restoring the Flow of Frozen Energy IPK Jatim Surabaya, 13-11 - 14 Logosynthesis in the resolution of Trauma and Fear Denrich Suryadi & Sandy Kartasasmita THIS PRESENTATION Content: An Experiment Matter,

More information

For ERT, effective therapy depends on heart to heart contact; achieving this is a large part of the work, and can take great courage on both sides.

For ERT, effective therapy depends on heart to heart contact; achieving this is a large part of the work, and can take great courage on both sides. Embodied-Relational Therapy (ERT) has its roots in Reichian body work, process approaches, psychodynamic therapies and earth centred spirituality. Initiated by Nick Totton and Em Edmondson in the late

More information

In order to have compassion for others, we have to have compassion for ourselves.

In order to have compassion for others, we have to have compassion for ourselves. http://www.shambhala.org/teachers/pema/tonglen1.php THE PRACTICE OF TONGLEN City Retreat Berkeley Shambhala Center Fall 1999 In order to have compassion for others, we have to have compassion for ourselves.

More information

The Soul Journey Education for Higher Consciousness

The Soul Journey Education for Higher Consciousness An Introduction to The Soul Journey Education for Higher Consciousness A 6 e-book series by Andrew Schneider What is the soul journey? What does The Soul Journey program offer you? Is this program right

More information

WAY OF NATURE. The Twelve Principles. Summary 12 principles. Heart Essence of The Way of Nature

WAY OF NATURE. The Twelve Principles. Summary 12 principles. Heart Essence of The Way of Nature Summary 12 principles JOHN P. MILTON: HEART ESSENCE OF WAY OF NATURE ALPINE MEADOWS THE CELESTIAL RANGE GOLDEN LEAVES AT THE SACRED LAND TRUST CLOUDS EMBELLISH THE SKY CRISTO MOUNTAINS WAY OF NATURE The

More information

Focusing and Me. Xu Yongwei (China) and Karen Whalen (Canada)

Focusing and Me. Xu Yongwei (China) and Karen Whalen (Canada) Focusing and Me Xu Yongwei (China) and Karen Whalen (Canada) Xu Yongwei is a Focusing-Oriented Therapist and a Wholebody Focusing Professional Trainer. She is a psychotherapist in private practice in China.

More information

This is at the very heart of counselling because as Michael White says we cannot say

This is at the very heart of counselling because as Michael White says we cannot say Sydney Conference 2010 Embodied Spirit As a counsellor what do we mean when we think of embodiment? How does this connect with our faith. The dictionary says Embodiement is, to give body, to give/ have

More information

Debbie Homewood: Kerrybrook.ca *

Debbie Homewood: Kerrybrook.ca * Dealing with Loss: How to Handle the Losses that we Experience Throughout Our Lives. Grief is the pain we experience when there is a LOSS in our lives not just the loss of a loved one, but the loss of

More information

This was written as a chapter for an edited book titled Doorways to Spirituality Through Psychotherapy that never reached publication.

This was written as a chapter for an edited book titled Doorways to Spirituality Through Psychotherapy that never reached publication. This was written as a chapter for an edited book titled Doorways to Spirituality Through Psychotherapy that never reached publication. Focusing and Buddhist meditation Campbell Purton Introduction I became

More information

SELF-MASTRY WORKSHOP FEEDBACK FORM

SELF-MASTRY WORKSHOP FEEDBACK FORM SELF-MASTRY WORKSHOP FEEDBACK FORM We enable individuals, companies and organisations to transform from their current to their chosen desired state. The coaching process makes it possible to be more focused,

More information

Conversation with Prof. David Bohm, Birkbeck College, London, 31 July 1990

Conversation with Prof. David Bohm, Birkbeck College, London, 31 July 1990 Conversation with Prof. David Bohm, Birkbeck College, London, 31 July 1990 Arleta Griffor B (David Bohm) A (Arleta Griffor) A. In your book Wholeness and the Implicate Order you write that the general

More information

Symbolically, you are the flower with a center of pure self-awareness and Transforming Power.

Symbolically, you are the flower with a center of pure self-awareness and Transforming Power. Blossoming Rose - Who Am I? Meditation [Source materials included below after meditation text] 1. BREATHE Take full deep breaths in and out as you repeat mentally and silently the following: Breathing

More information

Babaji Nagaraj Circle Of Love

Babaji Nagaraj Circle Of Love Babaji Nagaraj Circle Of Love Francisco Bujan - 1 Contents Get the complete Babaji Nagaraj book 3 Babaji Nagaraj Online 4 Intro 5 Various mind states 6 What is meditation? 7 Meditating without a technique

More information

Spirituality in Counselling and Psychotherapy

Spirituality in Counselling and Psychotherapy Spirituality in Counselling and Psychotherapy Prof. William West, Reader in Counselling Studies, University of Manchester. Visiting Professor, University of Chester Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing

More information

SELF-MASTRY WORKSHOP FEEDBACK FORM

SELF-MASTRY WORKSHOP FEEDBACK FORM SELF-MASTRY WORKSHOP FEEDBACK FORM We enable individuals, companies and organisations to transform from their current to their chosen desired state. The coaching process makes it possible to be more focused,

More information

Self Identification and Disidentification

Self Identification and Disidentification Self Identification and Disidentification Will Parfitt What is Disidentification? We are all identified with our self image, view of the world, specific beliefs, attitudes, feelings, sensations and so

More information

Level One: Celebrating the Joy of Incarnation Level Two: Celebrating the Joy of Integration... 61

Level One: Celebrating the Joy of Incarnation Level Two: Celebrating the Joy of Integration... 61 CONTENTS Introduction................................................... 1 Practice and Purpose............................................... 3 How It Works...............................................

More information

Energy is More The term energy is flexible

Energy is More The term energy is flexible Restoring the Flow of Frozen Energy: Logosynthesis in the Resolution of Trauma and Fear Pre- conference workshop Reston va, USA, May 20, 2015 Willem Lammers Objectives for this workshop The CE objective

More information

Bob Atchley, Sage-ing Guild Conference, October, 2010

Bob Atchley, Sage-ing Guild Conference, October, 2010 1 Roots of Wisdom and Wings of Enlightenment Bob Atchley, Sage-ing Guild Conference, October, 2010 Sage-ing International emphasizes, celebrates, and practices spiritual development and wisdom, long recognized

More information

Question 1: How can I become more attuned to the Father s Will?

Question 1: How can I become more attuned to the Father s Will? The I Am Presence Excerpts Question 1: How can I become more attuned to the Father s Will? Answer 1: Yes, we have the patterns of this soul and the questions and concerns. The Master said, "I and the Father

More information

Spirituality in Counselling and Psychotherapy

Spirituality in Counselling and Psychotherapy Spirituality in Counselling and Psychotherapy Prof. William West, Reader in Counselling Studies, University of Manchester. Visiting Professor, University of Chester Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing

More information

The healing power of movement

The healing power of movement The healing power of movement Published in Network Magazine Issue 79 Oct-Dec 2011 and Inside Out IAHIP Journal No 65 Autumm 2011 Throughout our history, human beings have used movement and dance to celebrate,

More information

Becoming a Dream-Art Scientist

Becoming a Dream-Art Scientist 1 The Spirit of Ma at Vol 3, No 10 Becoming a Dream-Art Scientist with Paul Helfrich, Ph.D. by Susan Barber The true art of dreaming is a science long forgotten to your world. Such an art, pursued, trains

More information

Life Response Q&A. Last updated: 1/7/2016 3:00 PM

Life Response Q&A. Last updated: 1/7/2016 3:00 PM Life Response Q&A Last updated: 1/7/2016 3:00 PM What is Life Response? Life Response is the phenomenon where the conditions of life suddenly or very rapidly turn positive due to a shift in one s consciousness.

More information

Relax for Health. Beginners Guide to Meditation. Marion Young. Marion Young / Relax for Health 2014, all rights reserved

Relax for Health. Beginners Guide to Meditation. Marion Young. Marion Young / Relax for Health 2014, all rights reserved Relax for Health Beginners Guide to Meditation by Marion Young Welcome Welcome to this Beginners Guide to Meditation; the message is very straightforward: ~ Meditation is a simple, natural process ~ It

More information

Embodied Lives is a collection of writings by thirty practitioners of Amerta Movement, a rich body of movement and awareness practices developed by

Embodied Lives is a collection of writings by thirty practitioners of Amerta Movement, a rich body of movement and awareness practices developed by Embodied Lives is a collection of writings by thirty practitioners of Amerta Movement, a rich body of movement and awareness practices developed by Suprapto (Prapto) Suryodarmo of Java, Indonesia, over

More information

Appearing in Issue #57. Order A Copy Today. Consciousness at the Beginning of Life

Appearing in Issue #57. Order A Copy Today. Consciousness at the Beginning of Life I began my career in the 1970s, as an obstetrical nurse and childbirth educator in Kentucky. I loved caring for parents as they birthed and raised their babies. To be at the leading edge of my work, I

More information

5 SIMPLE STEPS TO A MORE INTUITIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR PET. By Cara Gubbins, PhD

5 SIMPLE STEPS TO A MORE INTUITIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR PET. By Cara Gubbins, PhD Sending Signals 5 SIMPLE STEPS TO A MORE INTUITIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR PET By Cara Gubbins, PhD Animal Intuitive and Pet Medium www.aspiritualtail.com Illustrations by Claire Chew Gillensen www.clairegillensen.com

More information

Intuitive Senses LESSON 2

Intuitive Senses LESSON 2 LESSON 2 Intuitive Senses We are all born with the seed of psychic and intuitive abilities. Some are more aware of this than others. Whether you stay open to your abilities is dependent on your culture,

More information

So(ul) to Spe k. 42 Tathaastu

So(ul) to Spe k. 42 Tathaastu So(ul) to Spe k The goal of spiritual practice is to live in a permanent state of Divine Presence. We must become a new person if we want to live in that state. Every one of us has to ask, has my life

More information

God is One, without a Second. So(ul) to Spe k

God is One, without a Second. So(ul) to Spe k God is One, without a Second SWAMI KHECARANATHA The Chandogya Upanishad was written about 3,000 years ago. Its entire exposition can be boiled down to this fundamental realization: God is One, without

More information

Quantum Being By Or Koren

Quantum Being By Or Koren Introduction to Quantum Being Quantum Being By Or Koren The Art of Being that Unlocks Barriers Allows Deep Emotional Healing and Transformation With the Energy Source of Creation 1 Section On a Personal

More information

LESSON 2. Living with Intention & Affirmations

LESSON 2. Living with Intention & Affirmations LESSON 2 Living with Intention & Affirmations What is an Intention? Well, according to The Free Dictionary it is a course of action that one intends to follow, an aim that guides action, an objective.

More information

Healing with the Akashic Records

Healing with the Akashic Records Healing with the Akashic Records The Akashic Records hold complete and accurate vibrational information of every thought, state or deed ever perceived or expressed by every animal and human throughout

More information

mindfulness and the 12 steps

mindfulness and the 12 steps mindfulness and the 12 steps with Thérèse Jacobs-Stewart Resting the Mind Assume a body position where your spine is straight and your body relaxed. Allow your mind to rest for a few minutes, letting whatever

More information

Trauma Patients in Satsang

Trauma Patients in Satsang Trauma Patients in Satsang About the search for healing I myself have searched for almost 10 years in satsang and spirituality for healing emotional suffering, in vain. I have been granted transcendent

More information

In Concerning the Difference between the Spirit and the Letter in Philosophy, Johann

In Concerning the Difference between the Spirit and the Letter in Philosophy, Johann 13 March 2016 Recurring Concepts of the Self: Fichte, Eastern Philosophy, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy In Concerning the Difference between the Spirit and the Letter in Philosophy, Johann Gottlieb

More information

Reiki Jin Kei Do And Buddho International

Reiki Jin Kei Do And Buddho International Reiki Jin Kei Do And Buddho International 27 Most Important Reiki Jin Kei Do Questions Answered By Dr Ranga J Premaratna PhD. Lineage Head www.reikijinkeidoandbuddhointernational.com By Lineage Head Dr

More information

Taoist Sexual Meditation: Connecting Love, Energy And Spirit PDF

Taoist Sexual Meditation: Connecting Love, Energy And Spirit PDF Taoist Sexual Meditation: Connecting Love, Energy And Spirit PDF "Bruce Frantzis leads his readers on a journey of sensational discovery through the world of energy-generating sexuality. I am delighted

More information

diploma of energy healing

diploma of energy healing diploma of energy healing 1.5 year program. Intake February 2019 + fast track starts in May. Can commence some subjects any term overview 2019 A course for soul-centred transformation Accredited by: The

More information

LEADERS WITH HUMANITY. A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR THE WELL BEING OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATES By ADO in collaboration with Daniel King

LEADERS WITH HUMANITY. A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR THE WELL BEING OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATES By ADO in collaboration with Daniel King LEADERS WITH HUMANITY A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR THE WELL BEING OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATES By ADO in collaboration with Daniel King 1 In dedication to all the courageous beings that offer their

More information

Self-Realisation, Non-Duality and Enlightenment

Self-Realisation, Non-Duality and Enlightenment Self-Realisation, Non-Duality and Enlightenment Self-Realisation Most people are suffering from mistaken identity taking ourselves to be someone we are not. The goal of psycho-spiritual development is

More information

Illustration by Gaia Orion

Illustration by Gaia Orion Illustration by Gaia Orion Reiki for Spiritual Guidance B Y C O L L E E N B E N E L L I REIKI AND SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE GO TOGETHER. Reiki naturally guides and empowers our higher consciousness and unifies

More information

Purification and Healing

Purification and Healing The laws of purification and healing are directly related to evolution into our complete self. Awakening to our original nature needs to be followed by the alignment of our human identity with the higher

More information

Harmony in Popular Belief and its Relation to Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism.

Harmony in Popular Belief and its Relation to Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Harmony in Popular Belief and its Relation to Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Prof. Cheng Chih-ming Professor of Chinese Literature at Tanchiang University This article is a summary of a longer paper

More information

The Themes of Discovering the Heart of Buddhism

The Themes of Discovering the Heart of Buddhism The Core Themes DHB The Themes of Discovering the Heart of Buddhism Here there is nothing to remove and nothing to add. The one who sees the Truth of Being as it is, By seeing the Truth, is liberated.

More information

Sufi Order International Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Initiation

Sufi Order International Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Initiation Page 1 Initiation Note: These quotations have been selected from the works of Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan, the founder of the Sufi Order International. Initiation in the Sufi Order What is our object

More information

Excerpts from Getting to Yes with Yourself

Excerpts from Getting to Yes with Yourself Excerpts from Getting to Yes with Yourself By William Yury I came to realize that, however difficult others can sometimes be, the biggest obstacle of all lies on this side of the table. It is not easy

More information

AhimsaMeditation.org. Insight Meditation: Vipassana

AhimsaMeditation.org. Insight Meditation: Vipassana AhimsaMeditation.org Insight Meditation: Vipassana About Insight Meditation A big leap in development of your meditation practice lies with vipassana or insight meditation practice, which is going a bit

More information

Examining the nature of mind. Michael Daniels. A review of Understanding Consciousness by Max Velmans (Routledge, 2000).

Examining the nature of mind. Michael Daniels. A review of Understanding Consciousness by Max Velmans (Routledge, 2000). Examining the nature of mind Michael Daniels A review of Understanding Consciousness by Max Velmans (Routledge, 2000). Max Velmans is Reader in Psychology at Goldsmiths College, University of London. Over

More information

OPENING DOORWAYS TO THE SPIRITUAL IN PSYCHOTHERAPY

OPENING DOORWAYS TO THE SPIRITUAL IN PSYCHOTHERAPY Opening Doorways To The Spiritual In Psychotherapy 83 OPENING DOORWAYS TO THE SPIRITUAL IN PSYCHOTHERAPY Joan Klagsbrun, Ph.D. Guidance streams through the whole of creation and in any moment we can recognize

More information

5D Astrology Report: April 2017

5D Astrology Report: April 2017 5D Astrology Report: April 2017 The Inside Out Code Nothing is in vain. Nothing is just nothing. We are the SOMETHING in the EVERYTHING. I know you. I see you. It matters!. Andrea Balt Beautiful art by

More information

Your Body As Teacher

Your Body As Teacher Your Body As Teacher THE INSPIRATION OF VANDA SCARAVELLI By Anna Crowley What does it mean to be left alone with your body on a mat, with no standard instructions as to what a position should look like?

More information

2016 CLASSES and WORKSHOPS

2016 CLASSES and WORKSHOPS 1 2016 CLASSES and WORKSHOPS JANUARY SELF-DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP on FORGIVENESS. 2 SKYPE classes January 18 & 25 (7 9 p.m.). FEBRUARY THE POWER OF YOUR WORD 8 Monday evening SKYPE Classes February 1 - March

More information

HEALING with CRYSTAL SOUND

HEALING with CRYSTAL SOUND Article published in the Living NOW magazine - August 2003 edition. HEALING with CRYSTAL SOUND Susie Nelson-Smith How many times have we stopped and listened to sounds and music that touched our hearts

More information

Irrational Beliefs in Disease Causation and Treatment I

Irrational Beliefs in Disease Causation and Treatment I 21A.215 Irrational Beliefs in Disease Causation and Treatment I I. Symbolic healing (and harming) A. Fadiman notes: I was suspended in a large bowl of Fish Soup. Medicine was religion. Religion was society.

More information

K.V. LAURIKAINEN EXTENDING THE LIMITS OF SCIENCE

K.V. LAURIKAINEN EXTENDING THE LIMITS OF SCIENCE K.V. LAURIKAINEN EXTENDING THE LIMITS OF SCIENCE Tarja Kallio-Tamminen Contents Abstract My acquintance with K.V. Laurikainen Various flavours of Copenhagen What proved to be wrong Revelations of quantum

More information

The following Workshops & Seminars are designed to augment or integrate with existing teaching or training program(s).

The following Workshops & Seminars are designed to augment or integrate with existing teaching or training program(s). WORKSHOPS & SEMINARS The following Workshops & Seminars are designed to augment or integrate with existing teaching or training program(s). Embodying the Inner Practice of Yoga TIME: 2 Day (12 Hour Intensive)

More information

Level One The RoHun Therapist Program

Level One The RoHun Therapist Program What is RoHun RoHun is a systematic, rapid-acting, and transformational spiritual psychotherapy and process of enlightenment, for personal growth and change. As an energy-based method of healing, RoHun

More information

PROJECT ANALYSIS OF REIKI STEFNU MÓT A RENDEZ-VOUS

PROJECT ANALYSIS OF REIKI STEFNU MÓT A RENDEZ-VOUS Department of Design and Architecture Master of Design PROJECT ANALYSIS OF REIKI STEFNU MÓT A RENDEZ-VOUS Photo1: Stephan Stephensen GUÐRÚN MARGRÉT ANSNES JÓHANNSDÓTTIR KT. 31.03.71.3359 SPRING 2018 ADVISOR:

More information

MBC EMBRACING AN INTERNATIONAL IDENTITY

MBC EMBRACING AN INTERNATIONAL IDENTITY MBC EMBRACING AN INTERNATIONAL IDENTITY Tim Blencowe, Kevin Jin - March 2017 We believe that God has called us to be a united multi-ethnic community, and that our unity in Jesus is key to our mission and

More information

Interview with Stephen Gilligan, Marah, Germany Trance Camp 3, By Heinrich Frick (Headlines instead of the Questions)

Interview with Stephen Gilligan, Marah, Germany Trance Camp 3, By Heinrich Frick (Headlines instead of the Questions) Interview with Stephen Gilligan, Marah, Germany Trance Camp 3, 14.10.2009 By Heinrich Frick (Headlines instead of the Questions) The three generations of trance work The first generation of Hypnotic work

More information

Bert Hellinger interviewed by Harald Hohnen following a seminar with cancer patients in Washington DC, October Karen Hedley, trans. (2002).

Bert Hellinger interviewed by Harald Hohnen following a seminar with cancer patients in Washington DC, October Karen Hedley, trans. (2002). Bert Hellinger interviewed by Harald Hohnen following a seminar with cancer patients in Washington DC, October 2001. Karen Hedley, trans. (2002). Participants experienced your work here in Washington with

More information

Interview. with Ravi Ravindra. Can science help us know the nature of God through his creation?

Interview. with Ravi Ravindra. Can science help us know the nature of God through his creation? Interview Buddhist monk meditating: Traditional Chinese painting with Ravi Ravindra Can science help us know the nature of God through his creation? So much depends on what one thinks or imagines God is.

More information

Radiant Self-Care Guide

Radiant Self-Care Guide Radiant Self-Care for Ease-full, Empowered and Awakened Living Radiant Self-Care Guide Session 1 Daily Strategies Supportive of Conscious Self-Care for Living in Balance 1. Meditation and Prayer Foundational

More information

Principles of Integral Spiritual Practice: Being and Becoming a Practitioner (A Living and Evolving Document)

Principles of Integral Spiritual Practice: Being and Becoming a Practitioner (A Living and Evolving Document) Principles of Integral Spiritual Practice: Being and Becoming a Practitioner (A Living and Evolving Document) Taking Full Responsibility I choose to presume: That I, like almost everyone, tend to contract

More information

Spirituality, Therapy, and Stories

Spirituality, Therapy, and Stories E1C01_1 10/13/2009 145 PART 2 Spirituality, Therapy, and Stories COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL E1C01_1 10/13/2009 146 E1C01_1 10/13/2009 147 CHAPTER 1 Spirituality, Meditation, and Inner Listening In many memoirs

More information

Teachings from the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche:

Teachings from the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche: Teachings from the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche: Pith Instructions in Dzogchen Trekchod SEARCHING FOR THE MIND Concerning these unique instructions, we have now arrived at the threefold mental preliminary practice.

More information

Alignment with our real nature continued: Getting control of our vibrational dial

Alignment with our real nature continued: Getting control of our vibrational dial AYM May 2018 Week Two Alignment with our real nature continued: Getting control of our vibrational dial What does being sensitive to energy really mean? It means we are more aware than many many people

More information

It is because of this that we launched a website and specific programs to assist people in becoming soul centered.

It is because of this that we launched a website  and specific programs to assist people in becoming soul centered. The Next 1000 Years The spiritual purpose for all human experience during the next 1000 years is right human relations. In order for this to occur, humanity needs to develop soul consciousness. Right human

More information

Inspirational Coaching. Introduction

Inspirational Coaching. Introduction Inspirational Coaching Introduction Is Inspirational Coaching just a fancy term in the proliferation of Coaching which is sweeping the world? Or is it a specific approach which has elements uniquely different

More information

Golden Path Program Venus Sequence - Steps Summary

Golden Path Program Venus Sequence - Steps Summary Golden Path Program Venus Sequence - Steps Summary Step 11 Download The Venus Sequence ebook (Optional Purchase of Printed Version Available) Download Webinar Transcripts & MP3s for Offline Study Read

More information

Roger on Buddhist Geeks

Roger on Buddhist Geeks Roger on Buddhist Geeks BG 172: The Core of Wisdom http://www.buddhistgeeks.com/2010/05/bg-172-the-core-of-wisdom/ May 2010 Episode Description: We re joined again this week by professor and meditation

More information

Dwelling vs. Processing: How to Move from Stagnation to Emotional Healing

Dwelling vs. Processing: How to Move from Stagnation to Emotional Healing Dwelling vs. Processing: How to Move from Stagnation to Emotional Healing By JP Sears, Holistic Coach What is the difference between bringing up and dwelling on old painful memories versus processing the

More information

TRUTH, OPENNESS AND HUMILITY

TRUTH, OPENNESS AND HUMILITY TRUTH, OPENNESS AND HUMILITY Sunnie D. Kidd James W. Kidd Introduction It seems, at least to us, that the concept of peace in our personal lives, much less the ability of entire nations populated by billions

More information

From the waves to the ocean: how the discovery of deeper levels of our human being can help us to collaborate.

From the waves to the ocean: how the discovery of deeper levels of our human being can help us to collaborate. 1 From the waves to the ocean: how the discovery of deeper levels of our human being can help us to collaborate. Prof. Dr. Eric LANCKSWEERDT Guest professor at Antwerp University First Auditor at the Belgian

More information

Part I: The Soul s Journey...12 Soul Alchemy...15 Shining Your Light...18 Accelerating Your Journey...19

Part I: The Soul s Journey...12 Soul Alchemy...15 Shining Your Light...18 Accelerating Your Journey...19 : Find Your Soul's Path to Success by Michelle L. Casto Book Excerpt From the Author... 7 Part I: The Soul s Journey...12 Soul Alchemy...15 Shining Your Light...18 Accelerating Your Journey...19 The Yearning

More information

Solution-Oriented Spirituality: Drawing on Spiritual Resources in Therapy and Changework to Get Better Results;

Solution-Oriented Spirituality: Drawing on Spiritual Resources in Therapy and Changework to Get Better Results; Solution-Oriented Spirituality: Drawing on Spiritual Resources in Therapy and Changework to Get Better Results; Bill O Hanlon, M.S. www.getyourbookwritten.com www.thenewhypnosis.com www.billohanlon.com

More information

Instant Guide for 10 Meditations in Less than 10 Minutes!

Instant Guide for 10 Meditations in Less than 10 Minutes! Instant Guide for 10 Meditations in Less than 10 Minutes! Jyotishakti & Vidya Need a little down time? Here are 10 meditations you can do instantly to re-centre, ground, relax and release that stress and

More information

The Confessional Statement of the Biblical Counseling Coalition

The Confessional Statement of the Biblical Counseling Coalition The Confessional Statement of the Biblical Counseling Coalition Preamble: Changing Lives with Christ s Changeless Truth We are a fellowship of Christians convinced that personal ministry centered on Jesus

More information

Mindfulness. Mindful Body Awareness and Stillness

Mindfulness. Mindful Body Awareness and Stillness Mindfulness Read this extract from Meditation an In-Depth Guide by Ian Gawler and Paul Bedson on Mindfulness. Mindful Body Awareness and Stillness Mindfulness of the body brings our attention back to the

More information

Chakra Power Copyright 2015 ManifestationIntelligence.com All Rights Reserved

Chakra Power Copyright 2015 ManifestationIntelligence.com All Rights Reserved Table of Contents What the Chakras Are... 3 How the Chakras Can Help You Become More Successful in Life... 8 Explanation of Each Chakra... 10 The Root Chakra... 10 The Sacral Chakra... 11 The Solar Plexus

More information

I AM SOUND. Extend understanding of metaphysical and spiritual phenomena ALEX REDAELLI KENATON

I AM SOUND. Extend understanding of metaphysical and spiritual phenomena ALEX REDAELLI KENATON Extend understanding of metaphysical and spiritual phenomena by ALEX REDAELLI KENATON Published by: The Endless Bookcase 71 Castle Road, St Albans, Hertfordshire, England UK, AL1 5DQ Available from: theendlessbookcase.com

More information

2. Wellbeing and Consciousness

2. Wellbeing and Consciousness 2. Wellbeing and Consciousness Wellbeing and consciousness are deeply interconnected, but just how is not easy to describe or be certain about. For example, there have been individuals throughout history

More information

Buddhism Connect. A selection of Buddhism Connect s. Awakened Heart Sangha

Buddhism Connect. A selection of Buddhism Connect  s. Awakened Heart Sangha Buddhism Connect A selection of Buddhism Connect emails Awakened Heart Sangha Contents Formless Meditation and form practices... 4 Exploring & deepening our experience of heart & head... 9 The Meaning

More information

Experiential & Writing Exercises from Penney Peirce s Books on Transformation. 1 THE INTUITIVE WAY: The Definitive Guide to Increasing Your Awareness

Experiential & Writing Exercises from Penney Peirce s Books on Transformation. 1 THE INTUITIVE WAY: The Definitive Guide to Increasing Your Awareness Experiential & Writing Exercises from Penney Peirce s Books on Transformation 1 1 THE INTUITIVE WAY: The Definitive Guide to Increasing Your Awareness Getting the Most from This Book Attitude Assessment

More information

Prologue: Maps to the Real World

Prologue: Maps to the Real World Prologue: Maps to the Real World I have always thought of this book as a collection of intriguing maps, much like those used by the early explorers when they voyaged in search of new lands. Their early

More information

Worship as Community Missional Practice

Worship as Community Missional Practice Retreat #2 Tools Tab 73 Worship as Community Missional Practice Introduction The Gospel taught by Jesus was about re-defining our focus. So our worship should provide the space for us to do just that.

More information

Waking UP In The Dream

Waking UP In The Dream 1 Waking UP In The Dream A Powerful Guide To Peace, Happiness, and Living a Life On Purpose Through Conscious Awareness. By: Jeff Cloud 2 "There is a gift contained in every interaction and situation if

More information

RG: Is it this understanding of Ahriman that led you to create Michaelic Yoga?

RG: Is it this understanding of Ahriman that led you to create Michaelic Yoga? Interview with Yeshayahu Ben-Aharon Ph.D. June 9th, 2013 in Fargo, ND, during the workshop "Spiritual Scientific Tasks of 2013" with Dr. Ben-Aharon By Rich Grams of LaCrosse, WI RG: Can you characterize

More information

Beyond Tolerance An Interview on Religious Pluralism with Victor Kazanjian

Beyond Tolerance An Interview on Religious Pluralism with Victor Kazanjian VOLUME 3, ISSUE 4 AUGUST 2007 Beyond Tolerance An Interview on Religious Pluralism with Victor Kazanjian Recently, Leslie M. Schwartz interviewed Victor Kazanjian about his experience developing at atmosphere

More information

THE TAO OF THE COST $350. Amy Sprague Champeau LMFT, Jungian Psychoanalyst and Somatic Psychotherapist

THE TAO OF THE COST $350. Amy Sprague Champeau LMFT, Jungian Psychoanalyst and Somatic Psychotherapist A Workshop For Women ~ A body-centered path to women s authenticity ~ N I M O C O G A C I H C O GT SATURDAY, MAY 20, 2017 9 A.M. TO 5:30 PM AND SUNDAY, MAY 21, 2017 9 A.M. TO 4:00 PM COST $350 ~ YO U R

More information

6 STEPS TO CLEARING YOUR LIMITATIONS

6 STEPS TO CLEARING YOUR LIMITATIONS 6 STEPS TO CLEARING YOUR LIMITATIONS Dorian Light CHOICE Choice is one of the most valuable and important tools we have in this human experience. When you say I Choose to do something it invokes the positive

More information

Kaye Twining. c Tree of Life Spiritual Wellbeing Tree of Life Spiritual Wellbeing

Kaye Twining. c Tree of Life Spiritual Wellbeing Tree of Life Spiritual Wellbeing Kaye Twining BTheolGradDip(spiritual direction)ma c Tree of Life Spiritual Wellbeing 2017 www.treeoflife.org.au Tree of Life Spiritual Wellbeing info@treeoflife.org.au Page1 Introduction Recently I was

More information

The Circular Nature of the Spiral (viewed from the top)

The Circular Nature of the Spiral (viewed from the top) The Spiral of Spiritual Development athwork Teachers Helper In many lectures, the Guide talks about the spiral of spiritual development. Lecture #39 (Image-Finding) speaks to the importance of recognizing

More information

conscious campus Coby Kozlowski Transformative Leadership, Yoga, Meditation and Movement Facilitator Full Bio:

conscious campus Coby Kozlowski Transformative Leadership, Yoga, Meditation and Movement Facilitator Full Bio: conscious campus Transformative Speakers and Performing Artists Coby Kozlowski Transformative Leadership, Yoga, Meditation and Movement Facilitator Wellness Leadership Stress Reduction Self Care Self Expression

More information

FOR FELDENKRAIS TEACHERS (and others interested in understanding The Embodied Life teachings):

FOR FELDENKRAIS TEACHERS (and others interested in understanding The Embodied Life teachings): FOR FELDENKRAIS TEACHERS (and others interested in understanding The Embodied Life teachings): Understanding the connection between The Embodied Life and The Feldenkrais Method When Rabbi Mordechai s son

More information

How do you describe in a picture the Healing process?

How do you describe in a picture the Healing process? Why become a Professional Healer and/or deepen my Self Development? The offering of Universal energy with the specific aim of restoring a state of balance; physical, mental, emotional and spiritual by

More information